COMPOSIT.-E. 167 



necessary, in order to prolong the blooming period. Ver}^ good 

 showy varieties may be had cheaply by procuring a packet of 

 seed of double varieties, which should be sown in spring ; if 

 early — say February or March — in a slight hotbed ; or if in 

 April or May, in a cold frame, or under a hand-light in pots. 

 The plants will require to be pricked off as early as they can 

 be handled, keeping a close atmosphere about them till they 

 begin to root, afterwards inuring them to the fullest exposure 

 of air by degrees, preparatory^ to transferring them to their final 

 (|uarters. Propagate good fixed varieties by division, or by 

 cuttings. The latter may be had early in autumn by cutting 

 down the flower-stems before they have acquired too much 

 hardness, and dividing them into lengths of two or three joints, 

 cutting close and clean over by the lowest joint. They may 

 be afterwards treated as Pink or Lychnis cuttings ; but propa- 

 gation by this means is more troublesome and less successful 

 than that by division, which will be found usually sufficient for 

 all ordinary demands. 



P. alpinum, syns. Leucanthemum and Chrysantliemum al- 

 pinum {Alpme Frc'erfew). — The whole plant does not exceed 

 6 inches high. The root-leaves are deeply and regularly pin- 

 natifid; those of the flower-stems are linear and undivided. 

 The flower-heads are white, large as compared with the plant, 

 one to each stem. They appr^ar in July and August. There 

 is a variety with densely downy and somewhat hoary leaves 

 and stems, named F. alp. piibescens, suitable alike for the rock- 

 work and mixed border in dry warm soils. Propagate by divi- 

 sion. Native of the Swiss Alps. 



P. Parthenium (Feve?'few). — Were it not for several varieties 

 of this species, I should not notice it here, for the normal 

 state of the plant is of no ornamental value ; but the beauty of 

 the double-white and the yellow-leaved varieties cannot be 

 ignored. Indeed the latter, under the name Golden Feather, 

 is yet a sensation-plant in bedding out, and in strong moist 

 soil is likely to continue a favourite with all classes of flower- 

 gardeners. The double-white Feverfew and Golden Feather, 

 it is well enough known, may be propagated by division and 

 by cuttings ; and seed also may be resorted to with certainty 

 of having each variety pure in its kind, if the seed is saved 

 from good stock. Both varieties are fine border-plants, and 

 they are good and also inexpensive subjects for bedding out. 

 The species is a native of Britain and other countries of Europe. 

 Flowers throughout summer and autumn. Height of the best 

 dwarf kinds about i foot or 18 inches, coarser sorts 2 feet or 

 more, Golden Feather about 9 inches. 



